Product decelerator



May 8, 1962 w, R, STEWART ET AL PRODUCT DECELERATOR Filed Feb. 1, 1960 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 [ZYVEZ'YfUf'E Milidaan R. .Si'eu'nr [a'r'lcs 6. 505:0-

May 8, 1962 w. R. STEWART ET AL 3,033,350

PRODUCT DECELERATOR Filed Feb. 1, 1960 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 ARIABLE' REJ/STOR fnl/s'nfar's Ill 6111.17): K. Stewart Ola-vies 6 Basso United States Patent Ofiice 3,033,350 Patented May 8, 1,962

This invention relates to improvements in product decelerators and more particularly relates to decelerators for decelerating rolled products, such as, bars and the like.

A principal object of the invention is to provide a simplified means for decelerating the products from rolling mills and the like in a much shorter space than has formerly been possible, where the products have been allowed to come to a sliding friction stop.

A further object of the invention is to provide a simplified decelerator for the products of rolling mills and the like, in which a dynamically braked roll driven by the traveling product serves to decelerate and bring the product to a stop.

A still further object of the invention is to provide an improved form of decelerator for the products of rolling mills and the like, in which the product is moved onto a roll coupled to an unpowered direct current motor, and in which the motor is connected to dynamically brake the roll and bring the product to a stop. Still another object of the invention is to provide a decelerator for rolling mills and the like, utilizing a decelerating roll coupled to an unpowered direct current motor for supporting the moving product, and utilizing a yieldably pressed roll to press the moving product into engagement with the decelerating roll, as the product comes into engagement with the decelerating roll, and by so connecting the motor electrically as to dynamically brake the decelerating roll and the product moving therealong.

These are other objects of the invention will appear from time to time as the following specification proceeds and with reference to the accompanying drawings wherein:

FIGURE 1 is a fragmentary vertical sectional view taken through a product decelerator constructed in accordance with the invention; and

FIGURE 2 is a wiring diagram of the product decelerator and the means for accommodating the upper roll to come into engagement with the product.

In the embodiment of the invention illustrated in the drawings, we have shown in FIGURE 1 a cooling bed for the products of rolling mills, such as, bars and the like, in which the sheared products come directly from the rolling mill onto rolls 11 spaced along the cooling bed, and are kicked laterally from the roll line, by a kick-off device 12, diagrammatically shown in FIGURE 2, along a skid trough 13 onto a retarding or decelerating roll 15, coupled to an unpowered direct current motor 16. The cooling bed 10 and skid trough 13 are shown as being mounted on legs or supports 17 and 18 respectively. The leg 18 is shown as having a platform 19 extending inwardly and forwardly therefrom having a stand 20 for the decelerating roll 15, bolted or otherwise secured thereto. The stand 20 has inclined legs 21 and 22 of unequal length, extending angularly upwardly therefrom and forming bearing supports for a shaft 23 for the retarding roll 15. An inclined platform 25 extends downwardly from the platform 19 and forms a support for the motor 16, coupled to the shaft 23 by a suitable coupling 26, providing a direct connection between the retarding roll and the unpowered direct current motor 16.

A frame structure 27 for an upper movable pressure roll 29 is mounted on a column 30 and extends inwardly therefrom. The frame structure 27 includes an inwardly extending inclined frame member 31 having parallel legs 33 extending inwardly therefrom having spaced bearing strips 35 extending along the insides thereof, forming guides for a generally U-shaped support 36 for a shaft 37 for the upper pressure roll 29, for guiding the roll 29 to move in alignment with the roll 15, toward and away from the roll 15. A shaft or rod 39 extends upwardly from the U-shaped support 36 through the frame memher 31, and is encircled by a spring 40 interposed between the underside of the frame member 31 and the upper side of the U-shaped support 36, and biasing the roll 29 to engage a traveling bar or rod 41 kicked from the cooling bed 10 onto the retarding or decelerating roll 15, to efiect a drive to said roll.

The pressure roll 29 is moved away from the roll 15 and is held out of position to engage said roll by means of a solenoid 42 including a solenoid coil 43 having an armature 44 extending therefrom. The armature 44 has a bifurcated connector 45 secured to and extending from the lower end thereof along opposite sides of a flattened portion 46 of the shaft 39, and pivotally connected thereto as by a pivot pin 47. The solenoid coil 43 is deenergized when the bar 41 has been kicked onto the decelerating roll 15, to accommodate the spring 40 to move the upper pressure roll 29 into engagement with a traveling bar on the decelerating roll 15 and to press the bar into engagement with the decelerating roll 51 to effect a drive to said decelerating roll.

In FIGURE 2 of the drawings, the motor 16 is shown as having an armature 50 and a series field 51 connected in a closed circuit. A resistor 53 is also connected in the closed circuit in series with the armature 50 and field 51. A switch 54 is provided to adjust the resistor 53 to adjust the armature resistance, and the torque generated by the traveling bar 41, and to thereby adjust the rate of deceleration on the traveling bar.

A separately excited shunt field 55 is connected with two main line conductors 56 and 57 through switches 58 and 59 in respective of said main line conductors. The shunt field 55 has a permanent resistance 60 in series therewith and a variable resistance 61 in series with said permanent resistance. The variable resistance is provided to adjust the field strength and to thereby adjust the torque developed by the decelerating roll 15 and the length of travel of the bar 41, in accordance with the amount of torque developed. v

It may be seen from the foregoing that the unpowered motor 16, connected to operate as a generator is rotatably driven by the traveling bar 41, pressed into engagement with the decelerating roll 15 by the pressure roll 29, and that the armature 50 of the motor 16 will be rotatably driven as fast as the roll 15 rotates, the speed of the rotation of the armature 50 being limited by the amount of torque generated by the decelerating roll 15. It may further be seen that the amount of torque generated may be adjusted by adjusting the armature resistance 53,.or by adjusting the resistance of the separately excited shunt field 55, and that the travel on the bar 41 in'feet is limited by the amount of torque developed. I

The bar 41 is kicked off the cooling table 10 by means of the kick-off 12 diagrammatically illustrated in FIGURE 2.. The kick-off 12 may be of any well known form and is diagrammatically shown in FIGURE 2, as including a horizontal shaft 64 having a series of paddles 65 extending radially therefrom. The shaft 64 is so located with regard to the cooling table 12 that the paddles 65 will kick the bar from the cooling table onto the decelerating roll 15 during rotation of said shaft for a part of a revolution. The shaft 64 may be driven by a suitable motor (not shown), under the control of suitable control means, such as, an electric eye (not shown), or any other well known form of control means.

The shaft 64 is diagrammatically shown in FIGURE 2 as having a cam 66 thereon. The cam 66 comes into engagement with a movable switch arm 67 of an open switch 69, to momentarily close said switch as the bar 41 is kicked off the cooling table 12 onto the roll 15 and to accommodate said switch to open as said cam moves by said switch. The switch 69 is connected with the conductors 56 and 57 of the direct current exciting circuit for the shunt field 55, and serves to energize a coil 70 of a time delay relay 71 when closed, to open a circuit through contacts 73 in an alternating current energizing circuit for the solenoid 43.

As shown in FIGURE 2, the contacts 73 when closed, Complete an energizing circuit to a relay coil 75 through conductors 76 and 77 in an alternating current energizing circuit for the solenoid coil 43. Closing of a circuit through the contacts 73 will energize the relay coil 75, and effect opening of contacts 79 and 80 in a conductor 81, connecting the conductor 77 with one terminal of the solenoid 43. The other terminal of the solenoid 43 is connected with the conductor 76 through a conductor 83.

Thus, when the cam 66 trips the switch 67 to close the contact 69 and energize the relay coil 70, an energizing circuit will be completed to the relay coil 75, to open the contacts 79 and 80 and deenergize the solenoid coil 43 and accommodate the spring 40 to bias the pressure roll 29 into engagement with the bar 41.

The cam 66 is so arranged as to kick the switch arm 67 to close the circuit through the contact 69 and then to accommodate movement of said switch arm to an open position to accommodate the circuit through said contacts to open and deenergize the relay coil 70. The relay 71 is a time delay relay and when energized effects deenergization of the solenoid coil 43 and holds the solenoid coil 43 deenergized until the tail end of the product or rod 41 has passed between the rolls 15 and 29. The time delay relay 71, working against its decaying flux, may be adjusted in accordance with the length of the traveling rod or product traveling along the cooling bed, to assure that the rod is held into engagement with the retarding roll for the full length of the product being retarded.

It may be seen from the foregoing that as the rod 41 is kicked oil the cooling table 12, the cam 66 will close the switch 67 for a sutficient length of time to energize the time delay relay coil 70 to etfect deenergization of the solenoid coil 43 in a sufficient time delay interval, to accornmodate the spring 40 to engage the top roll 29 with the traveling rod and bias the traveling rod into engagement with the retarding roll 15, to drive said roll. The switch 67 will then be instantaneously opened, but the time delay relay 71 will hold the solenoid coil 43 deenergized for the length of travel of the rod between the rolls 15 and 29.

The traveling rod 41 will then drive the decelerating roll 15, which will in turn drive the direct connected unpowered motor 16 in accordance with the torque generated by said decelerating roll. The dynamic braking eflect of the motor 16 will thus tend to increase the torque generated by the traveling rod 41 as the decelerating roll 15 and motor 16 are rotated by at increased speeds by the traveling rod, with a resultant resistance to rotation of the decelerating roll 15, and a decrease in speed of travel of the traveling rod 41. The length of travel of the rod 41 will thus be limited in feet by the amount of torque developed, which may be adjusted by adjusting either the field or armature strength by the adjustable resistances 61 or 53 respectively, to stop travel of the bar at a predetermined point.

While we have herein shown and described one form in which our invention may be embodied, it may readily be understood that various modifications and variations in invention be attained, without departing from the novel concepts of the invention, as defined by the-claims appended hereto.

We claim as our invention:

1. In a device for decelerating the linear travel of the products from rolling mills and the like, a decelerating roller along which the product rides, an unpowered direct current motor directly connected with said roller, a second roller pressing the traveling product into engagement with said decelerating roller, to effect a drive from the product to said decelerating roller, said motor being connected to dynamically brake said decelerating roller upon the driving of said decelerating roller and motor by the product, and to thereby decelerate linear travel of the product.

2. In a decelerator for the products from rolling mills and the like, a roller along which the product rides, kickoff means for kicking the traveling product onto said roller, a second roller, means biasing said second roller into engagement with the traveling product and biasing the traveling product into driving engagement with said first roller, a solenoid for withdrawing said second roller from said first roller upon the absence of a traveling product on said first roller, switch means actuated by said kick-off means for deenergizing said solenoid upon the kicking of a traveling product onto said first roller, and an unpowered direct current motor directly connected with said first roller, said motor being driven by said first roller and the traveling product and connected to dynamically brake said first roller upon the driving of said first roller and motor by the traveling product.

3. In a decelerator for the products from rolling mills and the like, a roller along which the product rides, a motor directly connected with said roller, said motor being an unpowered direct current motor and being Connected to dynamically brake said first roller upon the driving of said first roller by the traveling product, a second roller in spaced relation with respect to said first roller, spring means biasing said second roller to engage the traveling product and effect the driving of said first roller by the traveling product, a solenoid energizable to move said second roller against said spring means away from said second roller, a time delay relay connected in the energizing circuit for said solenoid to effect the deenergization of said solenoid and the engagement of the traveling product with said second roller, a switch in the energizing circuit to said time delay relay, and means operated upon the engagement of the traveling product with said first roll to close said switch and energize said time delay relay, to effect engagement of said second roll with the traveling product for the length of the traveling product.

4. In a device for decelerating the products from rolling mills and the like, a decelerating roll along which a traveling product is adapted to ride, an unpowered dy* namic braking direct current motor directly connected with said roller, a cooling table, kick-off means for kicking a traveling product from said cooling table onto said decelerating roll, an exciter field for said motor, a direct current exciting circuit for said field, a pressure roll engageable with the traveling product and pressing the traveling product into engagement with said pressure roll, and a control circuit for said pressure roll actuated by said kick-0E means for bringing said pressure roll into engagement with the traveling product as the traveling product is kicked onto said decelerating roll, and for retractably moving said pressure roll as the retreating end of the traveling product passes by said pressure roll.

5. A device for recelerating the products from rolling mills and the like in accordance with claim 4, wherein the control circuit for the traveling product is energized through said exciter circuit.

6. A device for decelerating the products from rolling mills and the like in accordance with claim 4, wherein the direct current motor has an armature and series field connected in the closed circuit, wherein a variable resister is connected in series with said armature to vary the armature strength of said motor, and the torque generated by said decelerating roll, and wherein a variable resistance is connected in said exciter circuit in series with said shunt field, to vary the field strength of said motor, and the torque generated by said decelerating roll.

7. A device for decelerating the products from rolling mills in accordance with claim 4, wherein a solenoid having an armature operatively connected with the pressure roll is provided to retractably move said pressure roll with respect to the traveling product, wherein the control circuit controls energization and deenergization of said solenoid and includes a normally open switch in said energizing circuit and momentarily closed upon operation of said kick-off, and a time delay relay energized to effect deenergization of said solenoid upon closing of said switch and holding said solenoid deenergized for length of travel of the traveling product on said decelerating roll.

8. A decelerator for decelerating the products from rolling mills in accordance with claim 7, wherein an alternating current circuit is provided to energize said solenoid, and wherein the time delay relay in the direct current control circuit effects the braking of said alternating current circuit for a predetermined time delay interval, and

the deenergization of said solenoid for the length of travel of the traveling product.

9. In a decelerator for the products from rolling mills and the like, a first roller along which the rolled product rides, a second roller spaced from the first roller, means biasing said second roller into engagement with the traveling product and biasing the traveling product into engagement with said first roller, electrically energizable means connected with said second roller for withdrawing said second roller from said first roller upon the absence of a traveling product on said first roller, an electrical energizing circuit, means connecting said electrical energizing circuit with said electrically energizaole means upon movement of the traveling product away from said first roller to energize said electrical energizable means and effect the withdrawal of said second roller from said first roller, and a direct current unpowered dynamic braking motor directly connected with said first roller and driven by said first roller and the traveling product -for retarding rotation of said first roller and travel of the traveling product.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 733,901 Case July 14, 1903 2,134,373 Parker Oct. 25, 1938 2,336,052 Anderson Dec. 7, 1943 2,850,140 Selvin et al. .3 Sept. 2, 1958 

